Control lever



April 23, I I 5. s 1,710,305

CONTROL LEVER Filed June 1926 INVENTOR.

Patented Apr. 23, 1929.

UNITED, erra'rrss I 1,710,305 PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT s. sens, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

CONTROL LE ER.

Application filed .Tune 7, 1926. Serial No. 114,138.

This invention relates to-eontrol levers and bell-crank member isprovided with a series has to do more particularly with a lever for thecontrolof the brakes on an automobile or similar vehicle.

It has been the custom to provide control levers of this type with apawl which oper-' ates in the teeth of a ratchet.

The pawl engages with the-ratchet teeth and holds] the lever inposit-ion when the brakes areapplied. In order to a ctuate'the lever torelease the brakes, it is necessary to disengage thispawl from theratchet teeth, and for this purpose there is usually a rod-likeinember,connected to the pawl, extendingalongthe control lever to the handlethereof. A gripping de-.

vice, or a button adapted to be depressed is provided'by which the rodmay be actuated to release the pawl. Thus, there are two distinctoperations which must be made in order to release the brakes,namely,"the manual 0poperation of releasing the 'pawlfrom the ratchet,-and that of manipulatingthe con, trol itself to release the brakes. 1

According to the present invention the brakes, of the vehicle may beapplied or released by the single operation of moving the control lever.This control lever is mounted on the vehicle, and one end thereof isadapte ed to'be actuated by the operator, to apply or release the brakesin accordance with the movements of the lever. A draft-rod, orbrake-rod, is associated with the lever in "such a way that the brakesare securely held in on position,but at the same time the lever. ismovable to release the brakeswithout 1n-.

volving the other operations such as releasinga pawl from a ratchet;

A satisfactory form which the'control lever may take is shown in theaccompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevation with thebrakes in off position;Fig. 2" is a similar view showingthe on position;

' and Fig. 3 is a View of a modified form;

furcated parts. I

A member 4 which is generally'in the form ofa bell-crank, is pivotedasatf 5, and a,

As shown in the drawing, alever 1 is provided which 1sfulcrumed, as, at2, to a stationary part ofthe vehicle. The lower end.

. of the lever operates'to apply-and release the brakes ofthe vehicleupon manipulation of the upper end. For this purpose the lower 7 end ofthe'lever may be bifurcated and provided with a pin 3extending acrossthe bidraft-rod 6 is securedto the arm 7 of the bell- V crank member, asat 8. The arm of the tions.

of ridges and furrows 10 which, for the purpose of convenience, maybe'termed corruga- The arm 9 ofthebell-crankmember lies between thebifurcated parts of the control lever 1, and the pin 3engagesinthecorrugations 10. shape and size as to substantially fit the pin 3fland the'rid'ges may be slightly rounded as s own.

The furrowsare of such a -The draft rod 6 extends to the brake or brakesof the vehicle (not shown). In order and moves the parts from theposition shown in Fig. l to that shown .in Fig. 2. In this movement thepin3moves in an are around the fulcrum 2 and as it engages with theunderneathsideof the arm 9 of=the bellcrank member, the bell-crankmember is moved around on its pivot 5. w This mo tion is applied to thebrakes through the draft rod 6 and'arm 7 of the bell crank member. Y

When the brakes are on, the dull of the draft rod tends to rotate the 4ell crankaround its pivot in a clockwisedirection as .to apply thebrakes, the operator pulls the handle on the upper end of the controllever operator back to the position shown in Fig. 1,

and the pin 3rides over the'corrugated part of the bell crank member.

By this construction the brakesmaybe applied and released'by a simplereciprocatory movement of the handle of the control lever.

. There are no extra operations required of the operator such as'thereleasing .ofa pawl from aratehet, and in applyingor releasing. thebrakes the pin 3 ridesalong the corrugated portions of the bell crankmember, but at the same time, when the brakes are applied, releasethereof is-prevented by-reason of the pin 3 being engaged in one ofthefurrows ofthe corrugatedportion' of the bell-crank member.

In the modified fornishown in Fig. 3, a c'ontro'llever 10 isconnected-tea draft-rod 11 and is provided with a pin 12. A pivotedmember '13is provided with a roughened or corrugated portion 1 1, and aspring member acts upon the member 13 and holds the corrugated surfaceof the member in contact with the pin 12 on the control rod. In thisform of the invention the side 15 of each ridge is preferably moreabrupt than the side 16 thereof. This is for the purpose of reducing theforce required on the part of the operator in applying the brake and forobtaining a more secure holding action by the member 13 on the pin 12 tohold the brakes in on, position.

. In the use of this modified form the operator pulls the control lever,and the pin 12 is moved in an arc. 'Thc'pin travels along thecorrugations 1 iand the member 13 is turned about on its pivot againstthe tension of the spring-15". When the brakes are applied the operatorreleases the lever and the brakes are held inon position by reason ofthe pin 12 engaging in one of the furrows of the corrugated portion. Asstated above, the sides 16 of each corrugation are shaped so as topermit the pin to be moved thereover with a-minimum effort on the partof the operator in applying the brakes. The sides 15 are more abrupt forthe purpose of locking the lever with the brakes in on position.

The abruptnessof this side of each corrugation will, of course, becarefully calculated in connection with the tension of the spring, anothe pull exerted by the draft-rod. The calculation will be such,however, that the brakescan be released by the action. of an operatorpushing forward on the upper end of the control lever. i

This form of the invention is similar to the'form shown in Figs. 1 and2, in that the brakes are applied and released bythe singlereciprocatory movement of the handle of the lever, and at the same. timethe lever will be held in locked position in any one of the V furrowswhereby any desired breaking action is obtained. I

An'advantage of the form of the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is thefact that the principle of the inclined plane is utilized in such a wayas to reduce the effort required of an operator in applying the brakes.It, will be observed, from a comparison of Figs. 1 and 2, that themovement of the vpin 3 from off greater than the movement ofthe pin 8and the draft rod. This holds true whether the brakcsare throwncompletely on or off, or merely thrown part way on or-oif' and increasesto a large degree the mechanical advantage of the device.

What I claim is: v

1. A control mechanism for brakes or the like, comprising a controllever, engaging means on the leveradapted to travel in an are uponmovement of the lever, a pivoted member having an arm which lies in thepath of and contacts with the engaging memposition to on position isconsiderablyv her which upon movement of the lever is actuated aroundits pivot by the engaging member sliding along the arm, the pivot pointof this member lying within the said arc, brake means operably connectedwith the pivoted member, said pivoted member being adapted to change thedirection of pull exerted by the brake tension so that such pull isexerted substantially directly against a fulcrum point of the leverwithout substantial tendency to move the lever around its pivot, thesaid 7 arm of the pivoted member having a roughstantially horizontal,and provided with,

corrugations on its lower surface, and the other leg being pivotallyconnected to a draft red at a point closely adjacent and below the saidcorrugated surface, and means on the lever for slidably engaging saidcorrugated portion whereby the lever will remain locked in any givenposition in the length of saidcorrugated portion.

8. A control .device, comprising a draft rod, control lever fulcrumed ata point above the end of the draft rod, a pivoted member positionedbetween the lever fulcrum and the working end of the draft rod andconnected to the draft rod, said member having acorrugated surface, andmeans on the leverfor slidably engaging sa1d corrugated surface, sa1dmember beingpivoted at a point at orab'ove the line of engagement Ibetween the said lever and the saidcorrugated surface.

4:. A control device for automobile brakes or similar devices,comprising a lever, brake actuating means, a pivoted member positionedbetween the fulcrum lever and the-said brake actuating means, saidmember having a corrugated surface, and means on the lever forslidablyengaging said corrugated surface to rock said member on its pivot andactuate the brake means, saidmember being pivoted at a'point which liesnear the, are described by the said engaging means on the lever as itslides along the said corrugated surface, whereby the lever will remainlocked inany given position inthe length of said corrugated portion. 1

5. A control device actuating means, a pivoted member provided with acorrugated surface, said pivoted member being operably connicted to thebrake actuating means, means on the lever for "slidably engaging saidcorrugated surface to rock said member on its pivot to' actuate the forI automobile brakes r or similar devices, comprising a lever, brakebrakes, whereby said lever will remain locked in any given position inthe length of said corrugated portion, the said member being pivoted ata point which is-in juxtaposition to the starting point ofthesaidengaging means on the lever as the lever is moved to apply the brakes. V

6. A control device for automobile brakes or similar devices, comprisinga lever, brake actuating means, a pivoted member provided with acorrugated surface, said pivoted memher being operably connected to thebrake actuating means, means on the lever for slidably engaging saidcorrugated, surface to rock said member on its pivot to actuate thebrakes, whereby said lever will remain locked in any given position inthe length of said corrugated portion, said member being pivoted at apoint Which is in juxtaposition to'the starting point of the saidengaging means on the lever as the lever is moved to apply the brakes,the said means on the lever moving away from the pivoted point of themember as the lever is moved to apply the brakes.

7. A control device for automobile brakes or similar'devices, comprisinga lever having a locked in any given position in the length of saidcorrugated portion, the pivot point of said member being positionedadjacent the starting point of the engaging means on the lever when thelever is moved to apply the brakes, and near the are described by thesaid engaging means as the lever is moved.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ROBERT s. GANS.

